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Help Reduce Post-Workout Soreness With AMPED NOx

You may know and love AMPED™ NOx for its benefits to increase blood flow and prevent fatigue, but did you know it may help improve delayed onset muscle soreness – or DOMS – after intense exercise?

New research suggests that compounds in beet root, a component of NOx, may also help improve symptoms associated with muscle soreness that occur 24 to 72 hours after an intense or unfamiliar exercise session.

DOMS occurs when the muscles are damaged during exercise or there are micro tears in the tissue. These micro tears are the key to strengthening your muscles – as they rebuild, the muscles heal stronger than before. Although the soreness associated with this process typically occurs when exercise is intense or works a new muscle group, it’s also likely to happen to those who are unaccustomed to exercise and are starting out too intensely.

Most feelings of pain are unlikely to occur while the affected muscle is at rest but instead when there is tension or force. Many weight lifters and gym-goers see DOMS as a badge of honor, associating how successful a workout is with how sore they are the following days.

Research Findings

A new study, presented at the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting in June 2018, researched the effects of beetroot juice on DOMS. Researchers recruited 13 healthy, college-aged males to undergo eccentric exercises designed to elicit delayed onset muscle soreness. Prior to the exercise protocol, each participant consumed a beet juice shot or placebo twice daily for six days. Measurements were taken at baseline, 24, 48, and 72 hours post-exercise to gauge pain, tenderness, maximal force, and flexed and relaxed arm angles.

The researchers found recovery time for pain, tenderness, maximal force, and flexed- and relaxed-arm angles improved at each timepoint post-exercise in those consuming the beet juice. They theorized that the betalains – compounds in beets, red spinach, and other red/purple vegetables that give them their color – are responsible for the improved recovery time. The compounds act as antioxidants to reactive oxygen species that may build up with muscle damage caused by exercise.

While the study only had 13 participants, the findings are promising, because reducing DOMS could improve recovery and decrease time between workouts. Soreness after exercise is usually temporary, but there are many theories as to how to reduce or prevent DOMS. Stretching, slowly adding to the intensity of a workout, and light activity are all ideas that may work.